Marquez under Silverstone lap record as Lorenzo returns

Marc Marquez made the most of a newly resurfaced Silverstone to go under the old lap record while Jorge Lorenzo returned to riding the Repsol Honda Team RC213V for the first time since Assen.

2018’s torrential rain was nowhere to be seen as the opening day of practice began at Silverstone for round 12 of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship. The round marked a return to action for Jorge Lorenzo while Marc Marquez continued 2019’s theme of working towards race day during Friday sessions. Track temperature increased to 40°C as the day went on and fans were treated to a classic British summer’s day.

The newly resurfaced Silverstone circuit was immediately fast, Marquez able to consistently lap in the mid-2’00s throughout Free Practice 1. A harmless crash at Turn 8 during FP2 saw the championship leader miss just a few minutes of the session as he quickly returned to work. Taking advantage of the super-smooth Silverstone circuit and the hot afternoon conditions, Marquez improved on his own lap record to set a lap of 1’59.476 to end Friday practice second overall and put the crash behind him.

A recovering Jorge Lorenzo took a cautious approach to the opening day of practice but was still able to improve his lap times by close to one and a half seconds between FP1 and FP2. Ending the day 21st in FP2 and 22nd overall, Jorge Lorenzo is looking to make the most of his British GP weekend but knows it will be a balancing act between maintaining his physical condition and pushing to be closer to the front.

A positive weekend forecast means riders should be greeted with sunshine when they head out for FP3 at 09:55 local time tomorrow, Saturday August 24. Qualifying begins later in the day at 14:10 for the MotoGP class.

Marc Marquez

2nd1'59.476

"As soon as I went out this morning I felt like it was another track! I enjoyed riding it a lot more and I think so did everyone else. Last year we complained, but this year we have to say congratulations to the circuit because they did a great job. The lap times are coming, we are working in a good way and did one very good lap. But as always the most important thing is that we keep trying everything we need to. I had a small crash in my first run in FP2 because I am pushing and I couldn’t quite save this one! Aside from this it was a very good day."

Jorge Lorenzo

22nd2'02.907

"Today it has been a hard day, but I guess that little by little I will get my pace back and I will feel better on the bike. It's been very tough, because I still feel a lot of pain in my back and I’m missing a lot of the habits of riding. I lost a lot of muscle mass and being on the bike is very physically demanding, so it makes it difficult to be competitive. Regarding the new surface, I'm very happy."

MotoGP 2019Friday, August 23rd 2019

Practice
Round 12
British Grand PrixGreat Britain

British GP Combined Free Practice Classification

Sunny

Humidity

55%

Track Temp

44°C

Air Temp

25°C

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Quartararo Fabio

20

FRA

Petronas Yamaha SRT

Yamaha

1'59.225

2

Marquez Marc

93

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

0.251

3

Vinales Maverick

12

SPA

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

0.540

4

Rossi Valentino

46

ITA

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

0.712

5

Crutchlow Cal

35

GBR

LCR Honda

Honda

0.768

6

Dovizioso Andrea

4

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

0.885

7

Morbidelli Franco

21

ITA

Petronas Yamaha SRT

Yamaha

0.958

8

Oliveira Miguel

88

POR

Red Bull KTM Tech 3

KTM

1.135

9

Miller Jack

43

AUS

Pramac Racing

Ducati

1.167

10

Petrucci Danilo

9

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

1.203

11

Nakagami Takaaki

30

JPN

LCR Honda

Honda

1.267

12

Espargaro Aleix

41

SPA

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1.272

13

Espargaro Pol

44

SPA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1.366

14

Zarco Johann

5

FRA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1.439

15

Rins Alex

42

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1.441

16

Bagnaia Francesco

63

ITA

Pramac Racing

Ducati

1.563

17

Iannone Andrea

29

ITA

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1.682

18

Rabat Tito

53

SPA

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

2.364

19

Abraham Karel

17

CZE

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

2.967

20

Guintoli Sylvain

50

FRA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

3.015

21

Syahrin Hafizh

55

MAL

Red Bull KTM Tech 3

KTM

3.192

22

Lorenzo Jorge

99

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

3.682

Gallery

Images are copyright but free for editorial use.

Location Information

The Silverstone Circuit is long, fast and flowing, with a lot of fast changes of direction and a mixture of corners: the stadium section from Abbey through the Loop to Aintree is tight and technical, Woodcote and Copse are long and fast, the Maggotts/Becketts complex a bit of both. It… read more.

Location Information

The Silverstone Circuit is long, fast and flowing, with a lot of fast changes of direction and a mixture of corners: the stadium section from Abbey through the Loop to Aintree is tight and technical, Woodcote and Copse are long and fast, the Maggotts/Becketts complex a bit of both. It… read more.